Worlds Collide: Part Three
by Litta
Summary: The final installment in my story. Litta and co. fight against three huge bosses, while she puts in all the missing pieces into her past. The confusion with Squall will also be settled once and for all...
1. Back Together Again

**Chapter 1**

_...The biggest change we're making is that all materia is now illegal. All materia is to be turned in to the nearest hotel, where it will be shipped to Shin-Ra. All materia has being tagged, so if it is used we will find the person. Anyone caught using materia will be held accountable. Punishments will be severe..._

"Idiot!" Squall shut it off. He had been listening to Rufus Shinra's speech. Rufus had been talking about the new policies the Shin-Ra Corporation would be putting into effect. "Don't you realize what problems that'll cause when Sephiroth and Ultimacia start making trouble?" Vincent heard Squall shouting and came in.

"What's going on?"

"I was listening to Rufus' speech. He's making it illegal to use magic or materia."

"What?"

"Everyone is supposed to turn in their materia. Otherwise you'll be punished."

"How is he going to know if someone is using it or not?"

"He said all materia has been tagged. So whatever that means, somehow they'll be able to know if someone is using that materia."

"This isn't good. Anything else happening?"

"Nothing involving Shin-Ra. There was a report on earlier talking about strange, unexplainable, attacks on some of the cities. I think we can explain them though."

"You really think Sephiroth or Ultimacia would just announce themselves like that?"

"I wouldn't put it past them. Where's Cloud?"

"He's taking a walk. He was having another relapse so he's cooling himself down."

"Again? I thought he was finally past all that?"

"No. He's almost past it, but not quite. Red XIII and Yuffie meant a lot to him. We were all close friends when we beat Sephiroth."

"I know what you mean."

"So is that all the news you've heard?"

"Yeah. Nothing special."

"Nothing about Litta?" Squall didn't respond immediately. That was still a sensitive subject, and Vincent knew it.

"No. I was thinking about going out to look for her again. She might have moved back to Maetar by now. I can't stand not knowing where she is, especially when she said she was going to try to fight Ultimacia on her own."

"I remember how upset you were when I found you outside that night."

"I still can't believe she punched me." Vincent chuckled a little.

"She might not have if you had told her how you felt."

"I was planning on it when Tseng got in the way. Can we talk about something else besides Litta?" Vincent was thinking when Cloud came in.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked.

"We were just discussing what to talk about when you came in," Squall told him.

"Oh. So what's new, or wrong, in the world today?"

"Nothing much," Squall said, "just Rufus making all magic and materia illegal."

"Illegal! How can he do that? Doesn't he know we have to get rid of Sephiroth and Ultimacia before they resurrect Jenova! How will we do that without magic?"

"Calm down Cloud," Vincent told him. "We've broken laws before, and this won't be any different. We need to find Sephiroth and Ultimacia right now though."

"You're right. Okay, so do we have any news on them?"

"There were some attacks on a few towns last night," Squall informed him. "We should probably start there." They decided to start with the city closest to them. Since they were in Midgar, Balamb was the closest attack.

As they walked, Squall thought about his friends. _I hope Zell and Irvine are all right. Hopefully they can give me some information about what happened last night. Then we can figure out where to go from there._

They reached Balamb and looked around. The town had been almost completely destroyed. Only a small part of the town was still standing. Luckily, among the people, Squall spotted Zell and Irvine.

"Squall!" Zell came running over.

"Zell, what happened here?"

"You won't believe it, but Ultimacia was here. She questioned some of the people, but obviously didn't get the answers she was looking for. She got angry and started destroying the whole town."

"Who was she questioning?" Zell showed him to the people. "Thanks."

"Hey, where's Litta? I thought she was with you?" Squall just made his way over to the group of people Zell had showed him. Zell shrugged it off. Squall asked the people questions, trying to find out what Ultimacia had been after.

"She kept asking us about Sephiroth. Of course we had no idea and told her so. She asked us where we could find him and so on, but when she realized we didn't know anything, she went berserk."

"Thanks." Squall went back over to Vincent and Cloud. Zell was talking with them when he came over. Irvine joined them at the same time.

"So Ultimacia and Sephiroth are trying to resurrect this Jenova and then destroy the world, again?" Zell was asking.

"Pretty much," Cloud answered. "It was hard enough beating Sephiroth the first time, and now that materia is illegal it's going to be even harder."

"Ultimacia's going to be pretty hard too. She keeps switching forms," Squall started talking, but Irvine interrupted him.

"We don't need to hear about that Squall. We all know how hard she is to beat."

"Cloud and Vincent don't."

"Well they'll figure it out soon enough. So where's Litta? Did you scare her off or something?"

"No, she's just somewhere else. Anyways, I think-"

"Do you know where she is?" Irvine persisted.

"Irvine, why don't you go somewhere else where you won't be bothering someone," Squall told him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're starting to get on my nerves, and I'm just about through trying to deal with you."

"Fine, I can see when I'm not wanted." He walked off.

"Wasn't that a little harsh Squall?" Zell asked.

"No. If you feel sorry for him, you can go join him." Zell said nothing, but didn't leave. "Now what was I saying?"

"I think we should head to another city," Cloud suggested. "What's the next town that was hit during the night?"

"Nibelheim, and then Maetar," Squall told him.

"Cloud and I will head to Nibelheim," Vincent told Squall, "and you can check out Maetar. We can meet you there." Cloud knew what Vincent was doing, as did Squall, so Zell was the only one in the dark.

"Okay. I'll wait for you and we'll decide what to do when you get there." Squall walked with Vincent and Cloud until Nibelheim, then continued on to Maetar. When he reached it, he could see the rubble all over. He talked to the first person he saw.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"Haven't you heard? Ultimacia attacked. She asked everyone about Sephiroth, but no one knew anything. No, wait, there was one girl that ran away but Ultimacia saw her. She destroyed the town on her way out to chase the girl."

"Did the girl look like this?" Squall held up a picture of Litta.

"Yeah, sort of. Why?"

"Which way did she run?" The man pointed south.

"Into the forest from what I could see."

"Thanks." Squall ran into the forest without talking to anyone else. _I hope she got away from Ultimacia. There's no telling what could happen if she was caught._

--------

"Where is he, where is Sephiroth?" Ultimacia's patience was wearing thing, not that she had had much to begin with. Litta was refusing to answer. _I don't know where Sephiroth is, so the minute she finds that out I'm toast, _she was thinking.

"Answer me!"

"No. I don't feel like telling you where Sephiroth is." She had been questioning Litta for hours. _I wonder what time it is. Probably not noon yet._ Ultimacia made another spike in the air and threw it into Litta.

"Your silence is what is causing you pain."

"Look, I don't know where he is, so what else do you want me to say?" Another spike. "Quit using me like a dart board!"

They heard someone coming through the trees. Ultimacia disappeared, leaving Litta pinned to the tree. It was only a few minutes before she saw Squall. Since she wasn't in a clearing, he hadn't seen her yet.

_Do I want him to find me?_ She decided that if she wanted to live she was going to have to face him. "Squall!" He turned around.

"Litta! What happened?"

"Just get me down." He came over and looked at the spikes. There were five spikes in all, pinning her to the tree. He gently pulled them out, and put her on the ground.

"Thanks."

"What happened?"

"It was Ultimacia. She was questioning me about Sephiroth. She left when we heard you coming."

"And the spikes?"

"Whenever I refused to answer or told her I didn't know where Sephiroth was, she made another one. That's how she pinned me to the tree."

"I don't have any potions on me, so I can't heal you yet."

"Just take me back to town." He picked her up and carried her back. When they got there, Vincent and Cloud had just arrived.

"Squall, what happened?" Vincent asked. Cloud was walking away.

"Ultimacia caught her. Do you have any potions on you?" Vincent threw him one. Litta used it, so Squall put her down.

"Is Cloud still mad at me?" Litta asked. No one answered her immediately. "I guess that's a yes."

"He's calmed down, but I don't think he's actually forgotten about everything you did," Vincent told her.

"Is that why he walked off?"

"He always takes walks when he's upset."

"I'll just leave then so I won't be bothering Cloud."

"No," Squall told her.

"What do you mean no?"

"You saw what Ultimacia is like. Do you still want to deal with her by yourself?" She thought for a minute.

"Maybe not. But I don't want to cause Cloud trouble. I don't want to deal with him either."

"We can keep Cloud under control. That won't be a problem."

"What about Danis? Where is she?"

"She went after Sephiroth by herself." Litta didn't know what to say.

"I have to go after her. Do you have any idea where she is?"

"Why?" Squall asked.

"She can't handle Sephiroth by herself. Sephiroth is my problem, and I want to be the one to get rid of him."

"She left right after you did," Vincent informed her.

"So you have no idea where she is?"

"No, but I'll bet that if you find Sephiroth you'll find her." Litta started walking off, still sore from being pinned to the tree.

"Litta, wait!" She turned back around.

"What Squall?"

"I'm coming with you."

"Now it's my turn to say no."

"You think you can stop me?" Litta sighed.

"Fine. What about you Vincent?"

"I'm going to find Cloud." He walked off in the direction Cloud had exited by earlier.

"So where to?" Squall asked.

"What have you heard about Sephiroth recently?"

"Recently, or since you left?"

"I haven't been gone that long!"

"Two months."

"Anyways, what about Sephiroth?"

"Last I heard, he was spotted around Shin-Ra," Squall informed her.

"Really? I heard he was over by Midgar."

"I was in Midgar, and I never saw him. I would be quicker to believe that he was seen near Shin-Ra."

"Okay then, we'll head to Shin-Ra. I want to avoid the Turks though."

"Don't we all." When they left Maetar, their conversation stopped. Each had something on their mind.

--------

Vincent found Cloud sitting outside Maetar. "Been here long?" he asked.

"I still feel like she deserves to die for what she did. I want her to go through the same pain that I went through."

"You're going to have to control yourself around her."

"I know. Where is she?"

"She and Squall left to find Danis."

"Where is that?"

"I don't know." Cloud stood up.

"Then let's go after Sephiroth." He started walking, and Vincent followed.

--------

Danis had been hiding off to the side. She was sore from sitting, but kept still. _Of all the times I'm by myself! Why did I run off? I need someone here right now._

"It seems your reputation was true," Ultimacia said.

"And what reputation is that?" Sephiroth asked.

"That you are determined to achieve your goal, no matter what. Such as we have just accomplished."

"And what an accomplishment. To see Jenova alive again."

"Yes, but why did she leave?"

"She had business to attend to." Danis began moving off, hoping to tell someone what she had seen happen.

--------

"What was that?" Litta asked. What sounded like an explosion went off.

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sephiroth or Ultimacia have something to do with it." They headed up the mountain quietly. About half-way up they heard shouts. They ran the rest of the way up and saw a fight going on.

"Danis!" Litta shouted. "What are you doing?" Danis was firing shots and having to dodge at the same time. She had taken on Sephiroth and Ultimacia at the same time.

"What the heck does it look like I'm doing!" she screamed. Ultimacia turned to see who Danis was talking to. When she saw who it was, she glared at Squall.

"I remember you. You're the one who tried to keep me from my goal and ruined my plans last time."

"Yes, and now I get to do it all over again." She went after Squall. Litta jumped out of the way.

"Danis get out of here," Litta told her.

"Why? So you can deal with Sephiroth by yourself? I don't think so."

"Haven't you figured out yet that you can't beat him? None of us can beat him alone."

"Litta is right," Sephiroth said.

"Shut up!" they both yelled. He only smiled and began attacking them both. They took turns dodging and shooting. Litta looked over to see how Squall was doing.

"I will destroy you this time," Ultimacia was saying. Squall didn't reply but attacked again.

"Squall, we have to get out of here," Litta yelled.

"I know. Go ahead and leave, I'll grab Danis." Litta nodded and ran off at the first chance she got. Squall began working his way over to Danis.

"I'm not leaving," she told him. He just grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Sephiroth and Ultimacia didn't follow them. "Why did you pull me away?"

"You can't beat both of them by yourself. You can't beat just one by yourself either."

"What do you know about it?" Her eyes were flashing angrily. Squall knew better that to try to argue with her now. He just pulled her along. At the bottom of the mountain they found Litta waiting.

"Danis, what were you doing up there?" she asked.

"Besides fighting," Squall added.

"I was watching them. They resurrected something called Jenova. They were pretty happy about it, so I knew it must be a bad thing. I was trying to leave to find you when they heard me."

"You're sure they brought back Jenova?" Squall asked. Danis nodded. "I think we need to find Vincent and Cloud."


	2. New Friends and Old Foes

**Chapter 2**

Vincent had been following Cloud since they left Maetar. They hadn't gone in any specific direction, but Vincent wasn't surprised when they were getting close to Shin-Ra.

"Do you realize where we are?" he asked Cloud.

"Yes. I wasn't able to decide before where we should go. But now I realize that if anyone has answers, it's Rufus Shinra. Vincent, did you hear me?" Vincent was looking off towards a mountain a ways away.

"I heard you. I think we should head towards that mountain."

"Why? Do you see someone?" Vincent just started walking, so Cloud followed. It wasn't long before they spotted Squall.

"Vincent, Cloud, what brings you here?"

"Vincent," Cloud told him. Cloud looked at Squall, then Danis. Litta was partially hiding behind Squall, but Cloud said nothing.

"We have a problem," Squall told them.

"What kind of problem?" Cloud asked.

"Tell them what you told us Danis." She explained everything she had seen and heard while up on the mountain. She told about Jenova, then the conversation between Sephiroth and Ultimacia.

_So Jenova is alive, Vincent thought. We have some hard battles ahead of us, and not even with just our enemy. I can tell there are going to be some battles within this group as well._ "Litta, could I talk to you?" Litta was surprised, but went with Vincent.

"About what?" He led her away from the group, so they wouldn't be overheard.

"About Cloud." She looked down at the ground. "I know how Cloud still feels about you, and I saw how you reacted to his presence. You can't hide from him; you're going to have to talk this out with him." Still without looking up, Litta spoke.

"How can I? I've killed two of his closest friends, one of them was my friend, I brought back his worst enemy, and now two more enemies are back because of me. If I tried to talk to him, he would probably kill me. Not that I blame him for that. And now I might never find out the answers to my past. He's never going to be willing to tell me what I want to know. Why should he? I've caused him nothing but pain!" She looked up at Vincent, but it wasn't Vincent standing there. Cloud was in his place. "When did you get there?"

"About a minute ago. I heard you talking loudly and came over to see what you were saying."

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Most of it. Is that how you really feel?"

"Yes." Her voice had grown steadily quieter during her responses, and now her voice was a mere whisper.

"You don't have to feel like that. You didn't cause all of these problems by yourself. It's not like you knew what you were doing when you read that book."

"What about Yuffie?"

"You said yourself she was your friend. And besides, I know for a fact that Yuffie wouldn't want you so down about her."

"She was too upbeat for that," Litta commented. "So where did Vincent go?"

"He's talking with Squall." Litta and Cloud walked back over.

"Are things better now?" Vincent asked.

"Did you plan that?" Litta asked him.

"I might have. What of it?"

"What of it? I felt like an idiot." Vincent just smiled. "It's not funny!" She noticed Squall had turned around and was laughing. "Squall!" He turned back around.

"What?" The look she gave him made him burst out laughing all over again. Litta looked at Cloud who was also laughing, then back to Vincent. Even he was chuckling. Litta noticed Danis watching off to the side.

"You're not laughing?"

"It might be a little funny, but not that much," she pointed Squall and the others. Litta walked over to Danis, leaving the guys laughing.

"So are you still after Sephiroth?"

"Of course I am."

"Are you still after me?" Danis didn't answer right away.

"I guess not."

"When did you change your mind?"

"I don't want to chase you off. Then I'd be stuck with a bunch of guys by myself." They started laughing, so the guys came over.

"What are you two laughing at?" Squall asked.

"You guys," Danis told them. Litta and Danis kept laughing, while the other three looked at them.

"I think they've lost it," Squall said. Vincent and Cloud nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes, Litta and Danis calmed down.

"So where to now?" Danis asked.

"We should head to Deling City, since that's closest," Cloud said. "We can rest and talk there." It took about twenty minutes to get there, and Litta walked in the back with Danis.

"It's nice to not have to worry about you trying to kidnap me," Litta said.

"Yeah, since you're so easy to catch."

"I'm easy to catch! You're the one that tried to take on Sephiroth."

"At least I'm not related to him!" Litta tried to look hurt.

"I didn't lose my mind and join the Turks, by choice at least."

"At least I had a mind to lose." By this time they were trying not to laugh and they reached Deling City.

"You two seemed to be having a lot of fun back there," Vincent commented. Danis and Litta looked at each other.

"We're just getting along better, that's all," Danis said.

"You two never really got along before," Squall added. "Why the sudden change?" Litta and Danis remained quiet, while trying to hold in their laughter.

"I think we should leave them alone and worry about where to stay," Cloud suggested.

"I know where we can stay," Squall told them.

"Then lead the way." Cloud let Squall take the lead. Litta joined him up front.

"This is the first place you took me to when I ran into you, remember?" she asked.

"Yeah." Litta wondered why he was so quiet. _Oh wait. His friend used to live here, and then she was killed after we left her. What was her name? Rinoa, that's it. Didn't Squall like her or something? _Litta continued thinking until they reached the hotel. She and Danis were paired together.

"I think you two will be safe together now," Vincent told them. They just looked at each other with silent agreement. When they were alone, they talked and laughed for quite a while.

"I can't believe how much I disliked you before," Danis exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's hard to remember why we never got along." Danis gave her a look. "Okay, so I know why we didn't get along, but it's still amazing how well we get along now."

"Agreed." They eventually went to bed, but they weren't in for a pleasant night.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

_They were walking for some time without any conversation. When they reached a town, they went directly to the hotel._

"_Remember, we don't want to cause a lot of noise." The other nodded. They walked up the stairs and into one of the rooms. "I'll take this one, you take the other." He walked over to a bed, as did the other guy._

_The first guy began picking up someone roughly, dropping her back onto her bed. The other guy was busy picking up his own person._

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Litta felt herself fall onto her bed, then being picked up again. When she opened her eyes Reno was trying to pick her up. He quickly put his hand over her mouth before she could scream.

"Stay quiet or you'll be sorry." When she continued to struggle, he kneed her in the stomach. She quit moving, and he put her over his shoulder. Litta looked towards Danis and saw Krad picking her up. Danis was still sleeping.

After they got to Shin-Ra, Krad took Danis and Reno brought Litta to a cell. He dropped her on the bed. Litta took the opportunity to get some answers.

"What do you want Reno?"

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"Rufus is never going to let you get away from him. You can't hide from him."

"I can hide from anyone. If I can hide from Sephiroth, then I can hide from Rufus." Reno said nothing. He just walked out and locked the door. _Great, now what am I going to do? I don't even have my guns with me. How am I going to get out of here? Hopefully Danis is doing better than I am._

--------

Krad put Danis on the bed. She was already waking up, so she sat up the minute he put her down.

"What are you doing here? Wait, where am I?"

"You're back at Shin-Ra. Where else would you be?"

"Why am I here?"

"I brought you here."

"Why?"

"It's my job, and probably one of the most pleasant I've had."

"What is that supposed to mean?" _Not that I really want to know._ Krad just smiled. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I told you, it was my job." _I'm obviously not going to get anything out of him. Maybe I can talk to Rufus later. Wait, I don't think I want to talk to him. He might not be over the fact that I quit the Turks._ "So what's a girl like you doing with a group of people like Cloud Strife and the rest of them?"

"A girl like me? What kind of girl am I?"

"The kind that doesn't like to depend on people, someone who likes to be alone and depend on themselves."

"Well, I like having friends like 'them'."

"Interesting. What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Am I your friend?" _How am I supposed to answer that?_

"I don't hardly even know you."

"Perhaps I should change that then."

"No, that's okay. I think I can decide for myself without your help." Krad sat down on her bed and smiled. "Why are you smiling again?"

"No reason."

"Really." Danis didn't believe that. _So is he going to stay in here all night or do I get to go back to sleep?_ "So can I get some sleep now or what?"

"Or what." Danis looked at him confused. "You said can I get some sleep or what. I told you 'or what'. Is that a problem?"

"Yes. I just want to finish sleeping while I still can. Is that all right with you?"

"No, because I'm not done talking to you."

"Well I'm through listening." She fell back on the bed and put the pillow over her head. After a few minutes, she realized Krad hadn't moved. She slowly lifted the pillow from her face. He was still sitting on her bed, smiling. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She started kicking and punching him until he left, then locked the door.

"I guess I'll talk to you in the morning then?" he asked through the door. She didn't respond. She just went to sleep, hoping to wake up and find this all a bad dream.


	3. Getting Out

**Chapter 3**

When Cloud woke up, he went into Litta and Danis' room to see if they were up. He was thinking about talking to Litta about her past, but saw that Litta wasn't in the room. He looked to the other bed and saw that Danis wasn't either. _Looks like some Turks have been here._

"Squall, Vincent, wake up."

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked.

"Litta and Danis are gone. They were taken in the middle of the night."

"What!" Squall jumped up and ran into their room. Cloud and Vincent followed him.

"So do we go after them, again?" Vincent asked.

"Of course we do," Squall said. "We can't just leave them with the Turks!" Cloud looked to Vincent.

"I think Squall's right. Besides, we're going to need their help if we plan on fighting Sephiroth or Ultimacia."

"Or Jenova," Vincent added. Cloud nodded. They left the hotel and headed to Shin-Ra. They were there in an hour, during which there was no conversation. Squall was especially quiet, thinking about a lot of things.

_Why are they still after her? They know she's not a Turk anymore. Would they want her for an experiment? And what about Danis? Are they trying to get her back? Maybe it has something to do our materia, but that can't be it either._

"Squall? You back on earth yet?" Squall jerked out of his thoughts and found both Vincent and Cloud looking at him.

"I'm fine." They made a plan, but were never able to carry it through.

--------

Litta woke up the next morning in pain. She had fallen off the cot and landed on the floor. Her wrist appeared to be sprained at the least. _Oh great, like this makes things any better. _Reno chose that moment to enter her cell.

"Having problems staying on the cot?" he asked. Litta didn't reply. "Well, maybe this will make things better. Rufus wants to talk to you in his office." Reno left her when she got there.

"Have a seat Litta," Rufus told her. She did so. "How was your sleep?"

"Besides being interrupted in the middle of the night and injuring myself during the other half, just peachy."

"How did you hurt yourself?"

"What do you want?" she asked instead.

"It seems that you and your friends forgot to turn in your materia and magic."

"And?"

"I said that anyone who did that would be punished. I plan on doing just that by first making you suffer. I hope you aren't too attached to Squall, because you're going to watch him die." Litta thought for a minute.

"But for that to happen you would need to have him." Rufus pressed a button and Reno walked in. He had Squall tied up and threw him into the room.

"Yes I did realize that. And as you can see, I've covered that aspect. But now Reno will take you and you can watch him die the slow and painful death I promised you. When that's done, there are some other things I'd like to discuss with you." Litta didn't know what to say. Reno grabbed her and Squall and brought them to an empty room.

"Stand back and watch," he told her. "Try to stop me and you'll regret it." Litta didn't know what to do. Squall was finally regaining consciousness. Reno punched him in the stomach. Squall looked up at Reno, then to Litta.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Shut up!" Reno punched him in the stomach again. When Squall fell down, Reno kicked him in the stomach repeatedly. Then he pulled Squall up by the hair and rammed him into the wall.

"Stop it Reno!" Litta screamed.

"Oh, so you care about him?"

"No one deserves this."

"No. People like you do," he told her.

"What is she doing in here?" Squall asked.

"I told you to shut up!" Another punch. "When she left the Turks, she put into affect a detail in her contract."

"And that detail would be?"

"She has to watch you die." Reno threw Squall into the wall, then kicked him in the chest. Litta stood for a while, but couldn't stand it any longer. She pulled Reno's electric rod and shocked him with it. "You little-"

"I'm not going to let you kill Squall. Or at least I'm not going to stand by and watch." She shocked him again and he came after her. Squall slumped to the floor.

--------

Danis woke up with a strange feeling. She sat up and saw Krad sitting on the edge of her bed again.

"What do you want?"

"I'm supposed to bring you to Rufus when you wake up. You seem to be awake to me, so get up." She followed him the see Rufus.

"Nice to see you again Danis."

"Just get to the point."

"I see you haven't changed much. I have come to find out that you and your group of friends haven't turned in your materia or magic."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I have said that I would punish anyone found to have kept any materia or magic for themselves. I don't plan on letting you be the exception."

"And that means?"

"Krad will fill you in while you're leaving." Krad took her from Rufus and led her to another room.

"What's going on?" she asked. At first Krad didn't respond.

"Well," he said eventually, "we're going to find out how much stress and/or pain you can deal with."

"What does that have to do with materia!"

"It's not directly related, but it will happen just the same." Danis turned to the door but she was already locked in. She looked back at Krad who had something in his hands. _No, not in his hands, on his hands,_ Danis thought.

"What are those?" she asked. She thought they looked like spikes.

"These are a little method of persuasion I use every so often. Rufus specifically said that this needed to be one of those times." Danis knew she was in trouble. She slowly backed away, but Krad came after her. He passed his fist across her stomach, leaving four gashes.

"Why are you doing this?"

"It's not what I want, but what Rufus wants. I personally would rather be doing something else, but he's the boss." He came at her again, but Danis saw it coming. She jumped out of the way at the last minute, causing him to get the spikes stuck in the wall. _That won't hold him for long._

--------

Litta and Reno were both breathing hard. She had been using his electric rod against him, but now he had it back. She watched him, waiting for him to make the first move.

"I told you not to interfere or you'd be sorry. Now you're gonna pay!" He lunged at her and knocked her on the floor. She tried to get up but he held her down.

"Get off me!"

"No." He shocked her. She didn't scream, which made him shock her again. _I can only take so much. If I don't get away now, I won't be able to save Squall._ She used what was left of her strength to kick Reno off. He hit the wall hard but he recovered quickly. Litta dodged when he came after her, hitting the wall head first. She grabbed Squall and locked Reno inside. She heard something in one of the other rooms and decided to check it out. She heard Danis inside. Litta put Squall on the ground and kicked in the door.

Danis was on the ground, bleeding all over. Krad was sitting on her, keeping her from getting up or breathing. He looked at Litta.

"What are you doing here?" He got off Danis.

"I think I should ask you what you're doing to her."

"I'm doing my job. Reno, on the other hand, obviously isn't." Litta moved towards Danis but Krad blocked her path.

"Get out of my way."

"I don't have to listen to you." He stepped towards her. Litta pulled out her gun. Krad grabbed it away from her, which she knew he would. She took that moment to kick him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. She pulled her gun away from him. Instead of shooting him, she just knocked him out.

"Danis, can you walk?"

"I might be able to." Litta helped her up. She was a little unsteady, but she stayed up. "Okay, let's go."

"Let me grab Squall." She put him over her shoulder and then left with Danis. They walked into the forest before stopping to rest.

"So what happened to you and Squall?"

"Just a punishment for not turning in materia and magic, and a small detail from my old Turk contract," Litta said. "Reno was in charge of dealing with us."

"Same here with the materia junk. Krad was put in charge of me." Litta used some of her magic to heal Danis and Squall. Squall woke up a few minutes later.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem." She leaned against a tree. "You wouldn't happen to have a potion on you, would you?" she asked. He shook his head, but Danis threw her one. "Thanks." They got up and started walking again. "So Squall, where are Cloud and Vincent?"

"I'm not sure. When Reno showed up, they disappeared. I'm pretty sure they got away. As to where they are, who knows." Not long after that they heard something.


	4. From One Battle To Another

**Chapter 4**

"What was that?" Danis asked. She was answered by Ultimacia appearing in the clearing before them.

"I was hoping I would run into you again," Ultimacia told Squall. "I wanted to be the one to destroy you."

"I feel the same way," he answered back. She glared at him.

"You'll regret those words." She raised her arm and a lightning bolt hit him. Litta fired at Ultimacia, but she blocked the bullet. She hit Litta with a fire ball. "Do not interfere with things that do not concern you," she warned Litta. Danis had moved off to the side, behind Ultimacia, so far without detection.

"Squall, are you okay?" Litta asked.

"I'm fine. We have to be careful though. She's pretty powerful."

"So I noticed." He pulled out his sword.

"I wish I had my magic," he said. "Reno took it when he brought me to Shin-Ra."

"Fools. You think simple magic spells will help you defeat me? I cannot be defeated again, not by the likes of you," she said mostly to Squall.

"Wanna bet?" Litta asked. Ultimacia didn't know what she meant. Danis was behind her and now fired a whole round of shots off at her. The first few hit before Ultimacia blocked the rest. Danis came back over to Litta.

"So what now?" Litta looked at Squall.

"Last time I had the use of magic," he said.

"I have magic," Litta told him.

"I forgot. You'll be the one using that then. Danis and I will be the ones using physical attacks I guess." They turned back to face Ultimacia. Litta used fire, but it backfired and hit Danis. "Oh, you'll probably have to cast dispel first. It looks like she's already cast reflect."

"Sorry," Litta told Danis.

"That's okay. So are we going to kill her or what?" Danis fired some shots, but Ultimacia blocked them. Squall used the distraction to attack Ultimacia. It hit her dead on.

"You think you can get rid of me this easily?" she mocked them. Danis fired a few more shots. Squall attacked and Litta used Tornado. The combined attack did a lot of damage, but it also angered her. Ultimacia used Demi on all of them. Danis fell to the ground. Squall continued attacking while Litta healed Danis. Then Danis continually fired her guns. Ultimacia stopped them, and she began changing.

"Look out you guys," Squall warned. When they could attack again, Ultimacia didn't appear to have changed, but something was different.

"You will not survive this battle," she told them calmly. They knew she was serious, but so were they. They all attacked at the same time.

Danis fired a few more shots, but Ultimacia shot them back at her. Squall had run up to attack but she had reflected it. Litta used Ice, but Ultimacia countered with Poison. Litta didn't know what Ultimacia had used though, so she kept attacking. Litta healed everyone up again, aware that her Cure's were running low. Squall attacked again, hitting her dead on. Ultimacia fell back, but got back up. She seemed weaker though. Danis fired some shots, and a few hit.

"Looks like she's about ready to quit," Litta commented.

"Yeah, but don't let your guard down. It's when she's weakest that she's the deadliest," Squall told them. Just as he said that, Ultimacia used Holy on them. Litta almost passed out, and so did Danis. Litta healed Danis to keep her from passing out.

"Save your magic until the end," Squall told her. Litta listened to him. She used Earthquake while Squall and Danis attacked. That did it. Ultimacia began glowing. She screamed.

"You'll pay for this!" She began to slowly fade away, but she used Ultima before she was completely gone. Danis blacked out, and Squall collapsed. Litta was barely conscious, but used her magic on Danis and Squall. When Squall looked at Litta, she had passed out.

"I think she's poisoned," he said. "We need to get her to a town." Danis followed him as he carried Litta. Neither had any potions left, so they hurried. They reached Esthar a short while later.

They checked into a hotel and Squall left to get some potions. On his way out he met Cloud and Vincent.

"Squall!" Cloud looked surprised. "What happened? How did you get away from Shin-Ra?" Squall told him as much as he knew.

"You'll have to ask Litta about the rest. Do either of you have an antidote on you? Litta's been poisoned." Vincent handed him one, along with a potion, then they followed Squall up to Litta's room.

"What happened to her?" Cloud asked. After Squall gave Litta the antidote and potion, he told them. "So Ultimacia's gone?"

"That's what it looks like," Squall said.

"Now we just need to find Jenova and Sephiroth," Vincent pointed out.

"We've beaten them before, we can do it again," Cloud said confidently.

"Sephiroth isn't going to be easy to defeat," Litta told them. Cloud and Vincent looked at her, surprised that she was awake so soon. "He's not going to be easy to find either."

"We know that," Vincent said. "But we will fight him no matter what." Now Danis spoke up.

"So let's go after him!"

"I think you three should rest after your battle with Ultimacia," Cloud told them. "We can leave tomorrow." Danis sat down. Squall, Cloud, and Vincent left the room.

"I know why you're so anxious to meet Sephiroth," Litta told Danis. "But once he's defeated, what will you do?"

"I hadn't thought of that. I'll probably just find a job somewhere. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

"What about you?"

"Me? I just want to find out about my past."

"Have you ever thought it might be better if you didn't know about your past?"

"That may be, but I will go crazy if I never find out about my past. Even if it's not pleasant, I have to know." Danis said nothing. She fell asleep not long after. Litta on the other hand wasn't ready to sleep yet.

--------

Squall finished telling Cloud and Vincent about the battle with Ultimacia. Cloud began pacing around their room, Vincent sat still.

"So where will we find Jenova or Sephiroth?" Cloud was thinking aloud. No one interrupted him. "Maybe he's back in Nibelheim, at the Shin-Ra mansion. We should head there first." He finally looked at Vincent and Squall. "In the morning, we need to head to Nibelheim."

"We heard," Vincent said.

"You were thinking out loud again," Squall explained.

"Stop me next time and tell me so I don't make a fool of myself." Squall just laughed. He fell asleep shortly, but he was the only one. "Still not big on sleeping?" Cloud asked Vincent.

"Not especially." Cloud just left Vincent in the room. He went to check on Litta. He found her awake, sitting up on the bed.

"What brings you here?" she asked him.

"I thought I'd check up on you."

"Since you're here, feel like answering some questions?"

"I'd rather wait until you're fully rested."

"The last time you told me that I was kidnapped in the middle of the night," she told him. He thought about that.

"So what kinds of questions?"

"I think you know. I want you to tell me everything you know about my past. I found out about my mothers and I've known about my father. But that's where things get fuzzy. I've had dreams and been told things by Sephiroth, but I don't know what's real."

"Well, I'll tell you what I know, even if you already know it, just in case. I'll start with the beginning I guess. You grew up in Midgar with your foster mother, and Sephiroth if he was ever there. He was usually gone, being in Soldier and doing other things. Your mother worked so you could go to school, but she always planned on telling you about who she was in relation to you. Sephiroth told her not to, and when he found out she was going to anyways, he poisoned her. You were there when she died. Sephiroth raised you for a time after that, and you grew close to him. He left you again when he raised Jenova and summoned Meteor. I won't go into those details because that's a whole other story. Just before he left though, he took you on a trip with him to another city. While there you had some type of encounter with the lifestream.

"You were there when he battled us, me and a few other friends. When I killed him, I saw you run out of the shadows. I tried to get to you, but Vincent pulled me back to get out of the cave before it completely collapsed. When we reached the top, I waited until Meteor was gone before heading back to Midgar to see what was left of it. I found the remains of a mansion on one of the sectors, and that's where I found you. I think you know what happened from there."

"Yes, but what about that book from Sephiroth? When did that come into play?"

"Sephiroth made that book himself. He read lots of books so he knew a lot of things. For instance, he knew there was another world than ours. That world was Squall's world. He knew there was another powerful person there, and that was Ultimacia. When he decided to raise Jenova and create those events, he made that book. He wanted to have a plan that could bring him back if he died. Because of his knowledge, he allowed it to be able to bring back Ultimacia as well. That way if he couldn't raise Jenova by himself, he could use Ultimacia to help him. As to why only you can read it, he taught you the language of the book when you were very young. It's because you were so young that you didn't remember it. He knew that you would remember it eventually, but wanted to make sure that you wouldn't teach anyone else the language."

"So that's my past?"

"Just about everything I can think of. All the more recent stuff you know about."

"You mentioned something about the lifestream before. What is that?"

"You should rest now. We're heading to Nibelheim in the morning." He left her room and went to sleep himself. Litta thought about what questions she still had left, but she ended up falling asleep. Vincent was the only one awake after that.

Everyone woke up late the next morning, but they headed to Nibelheim all the same. Danis and Litta walked in the middle of the group. Cloud and Vincent walked in front of them, while Squall walked behind them. About half way there Danis heard something.

"I think we're being followed," she whispered to Litta.

"I know, I heard it too. It's got to be either Reno or Krad, but I'm not sure which one." A few minutes passed before he made another sound. A bullet shot out and hit Vincent. They stopped as he fell to the ground. They looked around but saw no one. Another shot.

They looked at each other and saw Cloud fall. When Litta and Danis turned around at another gun shot, Squall was sinking down. Litta cast Reflect just before a bullet aimed at her was fired.

"Breaking the law now are we?" said a voice from the shadows. They watched as Krad emerged from behind a tree.

"What do you want Krad?" Litta asked.

"That's none of your business," he told her. He cast Dispel and fired at Litta. She hadn't been expecting it so she couldn't move fast enough. Danis was left standing alone.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"You sound angry. Is something wrong?"

"You just shot all my friends! Of course there's something wrong!" she screamed. He said nothing. He stepped over Litta and picked up Danis. He threw her over his shoulder and carried her away. "Put me down!"

"Stop fussing," he told her quietly. After a while of screaming without getting a response, she calmed down. They reached Shin-Ra and he brought her to a cell.

"Did I lose my room?"

"Only Turks get rooms. Unless you're saying that you want to be a Turk, you get a cell. Rufus will be in to see you eventually." He shut the door on her. _This seems familiar. Only this time I'm going to have to get myself out of this._ Rufus came in a few hours later.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting," he said. He looked around, but didn't see anyone. He poked his head out the door. "Krad! Are you sure this is the room she's in?" he called out. When Krad said yes, Rufus walked back in. Suddenly, Danis kicked the back of his head and he fell to the ground. Danis closed the door and left the building.

--------

Litta moved very slowly. She saw Squall first so she healed him. Next she healed Cloud and Vincent. Squall looked up at her. He didn't have any potions, nor did the other two.

"You're going to have to heal yourself," he told her. She did, but the pain was awful. It had been so long since she'd experienced it that it was almost unbearable.

"Where's Danis?" Cloud asked.

"Krad took her," Litta said. Vincent and Cloud walked over to her and Squall. "After he shot me."

"We're going to have to get her back,' Cloud said.

"Litta can't," Squall said. "She's in too much pain."

"You can stay here with Litta while we get Danis," Vincent suggested.

"Okay." Cloud and Vincent walked off.

"You could have gone," Litta told him. "I can handle myself."

"You can barely talk. You had to gasp for breath between your sentences. I think someone needs to watch you, and that ended up being me." Litta didn't reply. She just curled up in a ball to try to relieve the pain.

--------

Cloud and Vincent arrived at Shin-Ra. Nothing was happening, so they assumed Danis hadn't escaped. They walked in the front door, and into the elevators.

"Where do you think she is?" Vincent asked.

"She's probably in a cell." They reached the floor and didn't see anyone. They couldn't hear anyone either. "Danis!" Cloud called out. No answer.

"Maybe she's somewhere else." They searched a few of the floors, but there didn't seem to be anyone in the whole building, not even any guards.

"They might have taken her somewhere else," Vincent told Cloud.

"Or maybe we're just waiting for you," said a voice. Reno came out from hiding. "I wondered how long it would take you to leave the building. It took longer than I'd thought. Did you get lost or something?" Cloud pulled out his sword in response.

"No, but I'll make sure your mind never finds its way back to your body." He ran at Reno. Vincent let Cloud make the first move, and watched for the first part of the battle. Reno dodging and shooting. Cloud blocking and attacking. Eventually he sent one well-aimed bullet into Reno.

"You'll pay for this." He left them and went back Shin-Ra.

"Leave him Cloud. We have to find Danis." They didn't have to wait long though. A little while later Danis ran into them.

"What are you guys doing here? How did you heal yourselves?" she asked.

"How did you get out of Shin-Ra?" Cloud asked in return.

"Let's leave the questions till later and get back to Squall and Litta," Vincent said. They made their way back and found Litta in the exact same spot. Squall wasn't far away.

"So where to?" he asked Cloud and Vincent.

"Let's continue to Nibelheim. I still have business to look into there," Cloud answered. Squall picked up Litta and followed everyone. They reached Nibelheim that evening. Squall put Litta in bed and joined the others.

"So what are we doing here Cloud?" Danis asked.

"I am hoping to find or find information about Sephiroth. Or Jenova," he added.

"And if he is here? Will you fight him?" Cloud nodded.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of Sephiroth," he said.

"We'll all help you," Vincent told him. Squall left to check on Litta while the others continued talking. She was still on the bed, but she wasn't breathing as hard.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm doing better. What were you all talking about in there?"

"Just Sephiroth and Jenova. Cloud is intent on finding out where Sephiroth is. He plans on finding him here."

"That's not surprising. Where else would you start a search for Sephiroth than here, except maybe Midgar of course. So is Danis in there?"

"Yes. She's still talking with Cloud and Vincent." Litta said no more, so Squall went back to talk to the others. Eventually they stopped talking and Danis left. Vincent followed her out.

"Why are you following me?" Danis asked. Vincent didn't reply immediately.

"Just keeping an eye on you, that's all." Danis continued walking, ignoring Vincent's presence. She had been thinking for quite a while and quite deeply when she ran into something. She looked up and was so shocked she couldn't move.

"Irresponsible child. You shall learn to show respect to those who deserve it." Danis backed up towards Vincent.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked him.

"Yes. That's Jenova."


	5. Tip or Trap?

**Chapter 5**

Cloud and Squall had continued talking when they noticed how long Danis and Vincent had been gone. Cloud was the first to actually say something about it.

"Haven't Vincent and Danis been gone a little too long?"

"It has been a while since they left," Squall said. "Do you think we should look for them?"

"I'll go look for them. You stay here and keep an eye on Litta. At least then I'll know where you two are. The last thing we need is for all of us to get separated." Squall watched him leave then headed into Litta's room.

"Back again?" she asked.

"I'm supposed to keep an eye on you, that's all."

"What for?"

"Cloud is out looking for Vincent and Danis. They left a while ago and haven't come back. Cloud and I are worried so he went to go look for them. That's why I'm supposed to keep an eye on you." Litta sat up.

"I can help look."

"You should still rest. And Cloud didn't want to come back and have to go back out again to look for us. We're staying here." Litta rolled her eyes.

"So you don't think we should help him look for them?"

"I'd love to help him look for them, but he told me to stay here with you, and that's what I'm going to do." He sat down in a chair across from her.

"Oh fine."

--------

Danis jumped back. She got out of the way as Vincent fired off a few shots. As she backed up, she ran into something. She turned around and saw that it wasn't something, but someone.

"Cloud!" She was surprised to see him.

"What's going on?" he asked. He looked at her, then to Vincent, then to Jenova, then back to her.

"We're fighting Jenova, what's it look like we're doing!" He walked over to Vincent and pulled out his sword.

"Nice to have you here," Vincent told him.

"Let's just get this over with," Cloud replied. He ran at Jenova. Vincent waited for a clean shot and then fired. Danis fired a few shots, careful not to hit Cloud.

Jenova suddenly attacked using magic to counter. She used ice on Danis, fire on Vincent, and lightning on Cloud. They stopped attacking to catch their breath. Jenova used that time to attack them all with earthquake.

"Do either of you happen to have anything that could heal us?" Danis asked. Cloud pulled out his materia.

"I do," he said. While he was doing that, Vincent continued to attack.

"We can't give her the chance to attack us. " Danis joined him and Cloud healed them.

"You imbeciles, you cannot defeat me," Jenova said.

"We will defeat you," Danis said. Cloud and Vincent began attacking again. Cloud used his magic while Danis and Vincent continued to use their guns. "How long will it take to kill her?" Danis asked a little later.

"Who knows?" Vincent said. "She's pretty tough." Danis didn't reply. Instead she tried to dodge an attack from Jenova but she was knocked to the ground.

_That's it,_ Danis thought. She stood up. She put her gun away and raised her arms. Cloud and Vincent watched her. Three huge pillars rose out of the ground. One was made of fire, another was water, and the last one was wind. Danis put her arms in front of her and the pillars headed straight for Jenova. She wasn't able to dodge so the pillars surrounded her. Vincent, Cloud, and Danis watched as the pillars slowly disappeared. Jenova was glowing. She was screaming as she seemed to be dissipating into thin air. When she was gone, they all breathed with relief.

"Nice work," Vincent told Danis.

"Thanks. I think we should head back to the hotel now," she replied. They got back and Cloud checked on Squall.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked Cloud.

"And what was going on outside in the distance?" Litta asked.

"Jenova's gone," Cloud told them. "Danis and Vincent were battling her when I found them, so I helped them out. How are you guys?" Neither replied for a minute.

"What kind of a question is that when you just told us Jenova's dead!" Litta cried out. Cloud said nothing but walked out. "I think you can go now," she told Squall. He left and went to sleep. Everyone else followed suit.

The next morning everyone met to talk about what to do next. Cloud voted for continuing to search for Sephiroth, and Danis agreed with him. Vincent said nothing, and no one else had any other ideas.

"I guess that settles it," Cloud said. "We're going after Sephiroth."

"Again," Litta added quietly. Only Squall heard her, but he said nothing. Cloud was still talking, but Vincent interrupted him.

"We know what you want Cloud," Vincent told him. "You don't have to keep repeating yourself." Cloud looked at Vincent.

"Well where are we heading to first?" Danis asked. "You thought you'd find him here, but we only found Jenova. So where else is there to look?" Litta knew of one place, but doubted he would be there. _He's not one to hide from a battle,_ Litta thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Squall asked her. She looked up at him.

"It's nothing."

"You were pretty deep in thought for thinking about nothing."

"I told you, it's nothing." Litta walked out of the room. Everyone looked at Squall.

"What did you say to her?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing," Squall said. They turned their attention back to finding Sephiroth, assuming Litta would come back after a while.

--------

Litta walked outside and into the forest. She walked in circles, trying not to get lost and stay close to the town. She walked for close to an hour before she started thinking about Sephiroth. _He wouldn't go to his island,_ she thought, _he wants to fight us. I know he especially wants to fight Cloud. He has a grudge against him. He'll want to talk to me again too. He won't be very happy when he finds out what happened to Jenova and Ultimacia, but then again he probably already knows that._

Litta heard something above her, so she looked up. She saw Sephiroth flying over, heading away from Nibelheim. He seemed to be heading in the direction of Shin-Ra. Litta thought about telling the others, but decided to just follow Sephiroth. After running for a while, she saw the Shin-Ra building in the distance. _So I was right. He is heading to Shin-Ra. But why,_ she wondered. She saw him fly into the building, and decided it would be best to not go in after him. She headed back to Nibelheim to tell everyone what she'd seen. When she got back, they were just beginning to wonder what had happened to her.

"Where have you been?" Squall asked her.

"You'll find out in a little bit," she said. She had run back so she was a little out of breath. "Where is everyone?"

"Still in Cloud's room." She walked in and Squall followed her. Cloud stopped talking when she came in.

"I know where Sephiroth is," she said. "I saw him when I was out walking and he went to Shin-Ra. I don't know what he's doing there or how long he'll be there."

"Let's go," Cloud said. They left and headed to Shin-Ra. It wasn't long before they reached it, since Cloud had them walking so fast. It was apparent that Sephiroth had been there. One side of the building was almost completely destroyed, and smoke was still coming out.

"Looks like Sephiroth came and went," Vincent said.

"So what now?" Litta asked.

"Should we see what happened?" Danis asked. Everyone looked at her. "What?"

"Do you really think we should go into Shin-Ra and tell them 'Here we are so lock us up already'?" Cloud asked her.

"I don't think we're the top priority on their minds right now," Danis stated.

"She has a point," Vincent said. "I think we need to find out why Sephiroth was here to find out where he's going." They made their way to the building, still aware of what they might be getting themselves into.

"What brings you here?" Reno asked sarcastically. "Come for a rematch? Or maybe-"

"Oh shut up," Krad told him. "Who cares what they're doing here. You're the one they've beaten how many times now?"

"Watch it," Reno snapped. "At least I don't confuse pleasure with business."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Krad asked.

"I think you can figure it out, but then again, you aren't as intelligent as I am," Reno teased.

"I think we both know who's more intelligent," Krad told Reno. Reno stood up and pulled out a gun. "Shouldn't you be concentrating on your work?"

"I know what I'm supposed to do. You're the one that seems to be confused." Krad merely walked away. He walked over to the group, leaving Reno standing with a gun in his hand.

"So what does bring you here?" Krad asked them.

"Why was Sephiroth here?" Vincent asked him. Krad shrugged.

"He talked to Rufus and then blew up half the building, which you can see for yourself. If you want to know what happened, you'll have to talk to Rufus about it." He walked back to Reno and they began arguing again.

"I think we should do as he suggests and pay a visit to Rufus," Litta told them. Cloud led the way and they found the place where Rufus had set up his temporary office.

"How nice to see you all again."

"What did Sephiroth want?" Cloud asked.

"I guess we could just skip the pleasantries then. As for Sephiroth, why do you want to know?"

"He was here and talked to you, then did this. What did you two talk about?" Cloud demanded.

"I really don't see how any of that is your business," Rufus commented half to himself, half mocking Cloud.

"It may not be his or any of their business, but it is my business," Litta said. Rufus looked at her.

"Your business? My dear, just because he is your father does not mean everything he does concerns you. In fact, I think it best if I didn't tell you. I'm sure he'll tell you in due time."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked him. "I want you to tell me, now!" They all looked at her, surprised at her reaction. _I don't really want to know what Sephiroth was doing here, _Litta thought to herself, _but Cloud does and I might be his only way of finding out._

"I see." Rufus thought about her reaction. "Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to tell. He came into my office and asked me if I knew where you where," he looked at Litta. "I said I didn't know, but I could find out. He then asked me where Danis was and I told him I didn't know that either. He asked me about Jenova, and someone he called Ultimacia, and when I couldn't answer his questions, he got very upset. You have already seen yourselves what he did after that." Rufus went back to his work.

Cloud decided to take a look around, see if there was anything there that could help him. Vincent looked with him, but they made sure to stay away from any of the Turks. Danis went off by herself, but Squall stayed with Litta.

"Why did you act like that?" he asked her.

"When?"

"Back when you were talking to Rufus. You surprised us by demanding him to tell you what Sephiroth wanted."

"I just figured I had the best chance of getting the information out. I got it mainly for Cloud, since I don't really want to know what Sephiroth is up to." Squall nodded.

"So what is Cloud looking for?" Litta asked.

"I'm not really sure," Squall answered her. "I suppose he's looking for something that might tell him where Sephiroth took off to." Litta thought for a moment, then began walking. Squall followed her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"To see if Rufus really told us everything." He looked up when she got there.

"Forget something?" Rufus asked them.

"You told us what Sephiroth did here, and what he asked you," Litta said. "Is there anything you may have forgotten to tell us?"

"Why would you ask such a question?" he asked her back.

"Just answer us," Squall told him.

"My, my, so impatient. Even if I did forget to mention something, why would it be of any importance to you?"

"That's for us to decide. So what else did Sephiroth tell you?" Litta asked again.

"He did say a few other things, nothing overly important to me. He mentioned finding out what had happened to Jenova and the other. He also seemed very keen on finding you Litta. He mentioned checking towns like Maetar first. Those are the only other things he mentioned." Litta walked away with Squall.

"So he's apparently heading to Maetar," Squall said.

"Or Rufus is just sending us there on purpose," Litta added. "Either way, I think that's going to be our next stop." She walked over to Cloud and Vincent. Squall looked for Danis.

"Find something?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, Rufus kept some information," Litta said, "but he told us. He claims Sephiroth mentioned heading to Maetar, so we should head there."

"He's probably just sending us into a trap," Cloud thought aloud.

"But it's our only lead at the moment," Vincent commented.

"Looks like we don't have a choice," Cloud said. "Maetar it is." Squall came over with Danis, and they left shortly after.


	6. Another Clue To The Past

**Chapter 6**

Upon reaching Maetar, Cloud and Vincent began asking questions of everyone they met. Cloud wanted to get all the information he possibly could about where Sephiroth might be. Squall, Litta, and Danis just began looking to see if Sephiroth was still around.

"If he really was here," Danis said, "would he still be here?"

"Probably not," Litta told her, "but then again he might have never been here in the first place."

"That's why we can't let our guard down," Squall told them. They didn't find anything for a while, so they decided to split up to cover more ground. They each went off by themselves, but agreed to meet up later.

Squall headed towards the forest to see if there were any tracks. He had only been searching a short while when he heard something behind him.

"Looking for me?" He turned and stood still. Sephiroth moved too quickly for Squall to react, so Squall never knew when Sephiroth knocked him out.

--------

Squall woke up a while later, unsure about what had happened. He sat up. He was in a room he didn't recognize. As he got up, Sephiroth walked into the room.

"Don't strain yourself," he said.

"What do you want?" Squall asked.

"That is not your concern right now. I want to know where my daughter is, and you know that."

"What if I didn't know that?" Squall asked.

"That is not the point. The point is that you do know where she is, and I would like for you to tell me." Squall didn't have many options open to him.

"I don't know exactly where she is, so I don't know that I'll be of much help to you."

"Then tell me what you do know and I'll decide how much help you've been."

"She was in Maetar with us and we split up to look for you. That's all I know."

"I see." Squall watched Sephiroth get up and walk to the door. He stopped and spoke to Squall before leaving. "You can try to leave if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"Why are you keeping me here?" Squall couldn't help but ask.

"You are just a problem that continues to get in my way. By keeping you here, I keep you out of the way. It will be easier to get rid of you separately than with your friends." He closed the door.

Squall waited a few minutes before getting up. He walked over to the door. It was locked from the outside, but that wouldn't be a problem. There was a window next to the door. Squall looked out and didn't see anything that would keep him from breaking down the door. He walked around the rest of the room to see if there was anything that would be of interest or help to him. Other than the bed Squall had woken up on, there were a few plain pieces of furniture and some books in the room.

_What could keep me from getting out of here,_ he wondered. _Guess I'll find out._ He pulled out his blade, suddenly wondering why Sephiroth hadn't taken it. He attacked the door, but nothing happened. Then he was thrown away from the door. There were no marks from his sword anywhere on the door. _Apparently he used some sort of magic to keep me from getting through the door, so he probably did the same to the window._ Squall got up and tried the window anyways. Same result.

"Great, so how do I get out of here?" he asked himself aloud. He sat back down on the bed. "I can't just sit here and wait for him to come back and kill me. What's going to happen to the others while I'm stuck here?" He sat there, wondering how he could get out, and how long it would take for Sephiroth came back for him. He also wondered what Sephiroth was doing right then.

--------

Litta and Danis met up and talked a little while they waited for Squall.

"You bought a sword?" Danis asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting a little tired of just having guns on me. They're good and all, but I wanted something else that I could use in a battle."

"Like a sword," Danis commented under her breath. Litta laughed and then checked her watch again.

"Are we early or something?" Litta asked.

"No, he's just late," Danis told her. Litta continued looking around, hoping to see him walking towards them.

"So should we go looking for him?" she asked after a few more minutes.

"Why are you so worried about him?" Danis asked her. Litta looked around while she answered.

"I just think we should find him since Sephiroth might be around here."

"Is that all?" Danis continued looking at Litta.

"Yes. So are you coming with me to look?"

"All right." They headed off in the direction of the forest, since that was where he told them he was going to look. They found a few of his tracks, but lost them quickly. "Either he stopped walking, or we're just bad at finding tracks," Danis commented.

"Maybe Rufus was telling the truth, and Sephiroth really is here, and he got Squall."

"You could be right." Both Danis and Litta turned around to see who had spoken. They found themselves face to face with Sephiroth. "Perhaps I did run into Squall."

"Where is he?" Litta asked.

"Why do you need him?"

"I don't need him," Litta said.

"Good. Then you won't mind," Sephiroth said.

"Mind what?" Litta wasn't sure she liked the look on his face.

"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull Sephiroth?" Danis asked. Sephiroth looked at her for a minute before speaking again.

"I'm not trying to pull anything. I only want to be with my daughter, which many of you seem to think is a bad idea. That is what I don't understand."

"Well let me fill you in-" Danis started, but Litta interrupted her.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"You're my daughter. I will always be looking for you."

"I may be your daughter, but you are not always looking for me. Now tell me what you want." Sephiroth studied her face, which was a face that demanded answers.

"I have some questions for you that I would like you to answer for me."

"What kind of questions?"

"I would prefer to speak to you in private," he said looking at Danis.

"She'll be staying," Litta told him. "If that's a problem, then I guess you can leave."

"Very well then." Sephiroth quickly knocked Danis out, then turned to Litta. "I said I wanted to talk in private. So if you'll please come with me."

"I'm not just going to leave Danis lying here in the forest, unconscious."

"I will speak with you now, and I will not be hindered by one of your friends."

"I don't care what you want; I'm not leaving Danis here. If you want to talk to me, let me at least bring Danis somewhere and I'll meet you back here when I'm done."

"I'll be waiting then." Litta picked Danis up and carried her away. She went to the hotel and put Danis in a room. She wrote a quick note and then headed back out to Sephiroth. She wondered about trying to find Cloud and Vincent, but figured that making Sephiroth wait any longer wouldn't be such a good idea.

"Okay, so what do you want to ask me?" she asked when she got back.

"How have you been?"

"I know that's not what you wanted to ask me."

"I still would like to know how you've been doing. If you don't want to answer, then I'll move on. Do you know where I can find either Ultimacia or Jenova?"

"I'm afraid I don't," she replied.

"Are you sure?" Sephiroth eyed her while she answered.

"I don't know where they are," she said clearly. She looked him straight in the eyes as she spoke.

"I see. You haven't heard any news from anywhere?"

"Afraid not." He seemed to be thinking, and she was doing some thinking of her own. "What do you know about the lifestream?" she asked him. He looked up at her, looking almost surprised but she couldn't quite tell.

"Why do you ask?"

"Don't answer my question with a question of your own," she told him. "Tell me what you know about the lifestream."

"There aren't many who know much about the lifestream," he told her.

"Stop evading my question!" She was starting to get ticked off.

"Then tell me why you want to know." _I guess I don't have a choice._

"I found out more about my past, but I still have a lot of questions. I heard something about the lifestream. I want to know exactly what that has to do with me and my past."

"You were on a trip with me," Sephiroth began telling her. "I was doing some work and brought you along. We were in Mideel when it happened. I told you to wait outside a shop while I talked to someone inside. You got tired of waiting and wandered off. When I came out again, I saw you in one of the stores on the second story. You were near the edge of the platform when a small earthquake hit. I couldn't get to you in time, and you fell into a large crack in the ground. The crack was deep enough that some of the lifestream began to seep through it. I pulled you out, but you were in a coma for a week."

"But what is the lifestream?" Litta asked.

"It is said to be the life force of the planet. That is where Mako energy comes from. Supposedly if we continue to drain Mako energy out of the planet as Shin-Ra was doing, the planet will die." She wanted to ask if he believed that, since it seemed like he didn't, but she decided not to. Instead she asked, "Where are we?"

"We're not too far from the city." He continued walking. She began wondering how Danis was doing; then where Squall could be. When she thought more about Squall and what Sephiroth had said earlier, she looked again at Sephiroth. _Maybe he did do something to Squall. _"What are you thinking about?" he asked her.

"Just wondering about Squall. What did you do to him?" she asked.

"I told you before you wouldn't mind."

"What wouldn't I mind?" Litta asked, her voice getting louder.

"There's no need to raise your voice. In fact, we're quite close." As he said that, Litta saw a small house, more like a shack, a short distance away.

"What is that place?" Sephiroth made no comment, just continued walking towards it. She followed him hoping to find Squall inside. When Sephiroth opened the door, he pushed her in first. She soon saw why.

--------

Squall had given up trying to get out of the house. _I'll just have to wait for Sephiroth to come back. When he does, I'll be ready for him._ He heard voices, and knew Sephiroth was coming. He stood by the door, ready to attack the minute he walked in.

--------

When the door did open, Squall attacked, but he couldn't stop in time when he saw who he was really attacking.

"You really should start using your eyes more Squall," Sephiroth commented. Squall said nothing, nor did Litta. Sephiroth caught Litta when she fell backwards from the force of Squall's attack. He carried her over to the bed. "You ought to be more careful," he said to Squall.

"Shut up! You planned it so I would hit her instead of you, and you're her father!" Squall looked about ready to attack again.

"Are you sure you want to try to attack me again? Would you be able to stop if I moved?" Squall hesitated.

"Squall, just get out of here," Litta said quietly. Squall looked at her. "That's right, I told you to leave."

"You want me to leave you with him?" Squall nodded to Sephiroth. Litta nodded.

"I need to talk to him. And he is my father. I can deal with him." Squall stood there without moving.

"I suggest you take this chance to leave while you still can," Sephiroth said. "You won't get another one." Squall looked from Litta to Sephiroth.

"I won't leave you with him," he said. Litta sighed.

"He's made his choice," Sephiroth said. "Unfortunately it was the wrong one. Now he's going to have to die."

"No!" Litta screamed. Squall readied his blade.

"Fool," Sephiroth muttered. Litta tried to sit up, but fell back against the bed. Sephiroth stood and faced Squall. He raised his hand and a lightning bolt struck Squall. The bolt caused the house to catch fire.

"You idiot," Squall yelled. Sephiroth just disappeared. Squall walked over to Litta. "Guess it's time for us to leave too." He picked her up and carried her out.

"Take me back to the hotel, I want to check on Danis," Litta told him. He did so. When they got there, Danis was awake.

"What did I miss?" she asked them.

"Just a small fight with Sephiroth," Squall answered. Danis groaned and looked at Litta.

"What happened to you?" she asked her.

"Sephiroth planned it so Squall would attack me instead of him," she said. "That's when Squall and Sephiroth had a small fight. Sephiroth used lightning to attack Squall, which caught the house on fire. Then he left, and so did we."

"Have you seen either Cloud or Vincent?" Squall asked. Danis shook her head.

"I just woke up. You two are the first people I've seen," she said. The door opened and Cloud and Vincent walked in. "Now I see four people."

"What did we miss?" Cloud asked. Squall told them what happened to him, Litta filling in the details he didn't know. "So he was here, he left, and now he's gone again!"

"Not quite." Everyone looked and saw Sephiroth standing in the doorway. He walked into the room. Cloud pulled out his sword, Squall his, and Vincent a gun. "I assure you, you won't be needing those." Sephiroth smiled.


	7. Everyone's Fight

**Chapter 7**

No one lowered their weapons. They stared at Sephiroth in surprise. Sephiroth stared back, still smiling. He seemed to be enjoying himself. After another minute, he raised his hand and all the weapons flew out of the person's hand and dropped to the ground in front of him.

"There now, that's better," he said.

"What do you want Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"Every time we see each other you always ask me that," he commented softly. "I think I deserve to spend some time with my daughter, don't you?"

"Since when did you decide to start acting like a father?" Litta asked.

"I have always been your father. Everything I've ever done has been for you." Litta laughed. Sephiroth didn't. "What is so funny to you?"

"Everything you've done has been for me?" She laughed a minute more, then became serious. "So kidnapping my friends was for me? Trying to kill my friends was for me? Trying to kill me was for me? I guess I must have missed something."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sephiroth told her.

"You still haven't told us what you want," Cloud said again. Sephiroth turned towards him.

"I have many reasons for being here. One of them is my daughter, as I have said. The other, is you." He pulled out his masamune. Cloud quickly ran forward and grabbed his sword. Sephiroth swung at him, but missed. He didn't seem to intent on hitting Cloud though. Cloud tossed Squall his sword and Vincent his gun.

"Now that you all have your weapons back, let's continue this outside." Sephiroth calmly walked out the door. Cloud was the first to follow, then Vincent.

"So what now?" Squall asked.

"We follow him," Litta said. Danis jumped out of the bed and they all went down after the others. They walked out of the hotel and into the forest. They found Cloud and Sephiroth fighting while Vincent stood to the side.

"Did we miss much?" Danis asked.

"No. Cloud began fighting with Sephiroth immediately after we got into the forest. They have an old score to settle."

"We all have a score to settle with Sephiroth," Litta said. "No one more than any other person. This is a battle for all of us."

"Then let's help Cloud out," Squall said.

"No," Vincent told him. "Cloud would not appreciate someone interfering with this battle." Squall nodded and watched the battle. Cloud was fighting with everything he had, but Sephiroth seemed to be toying with him. After a little while longer Sephiroth got in one good hit, knocking Cloud into a tree and knocking him out. The cut was deep and bleeding badly. Sephiroth stood calmly by while everyone else rushed to Cloud. Everyone, that is, except Litta.

"You just can't stand to lose, can you?" she asked him.

"It's not that I can't stand to lose, it's just that no one can beat me." He smiled.

"I think you're going to find that there is someone who can beat you. Me." She pulled out a gun, and he raised his sword. Squall was the first one to notice what she was doing. He came and stood next to her, his sword out. Danis joined them.

"Vincent's taking Cloud back to the hotel," Danis told them.

"Let's get rid of Sephiroth then," Squall said. Sephiroth stood still, waiting for them to make the first move. They slowly spread themselves out, but also waited for Sephiroth to make the first move.

"Are you all too afraid to make a move?" Sephiroth taunted them. Danis took the bait and fired a few shots. Sephiroth easily redirected them in the direction of Litta. She dodged and rolled to the side. "You should consider the safety of your friends more."

"Shut up!" Danis shouted. She looked at Litta as if to apologize, and Litta nodded. "You're the one that could care less about anyone's safety other than your own."

"How like a Turk," Sephiroth said. Danis was about ready to snap. Litta came over to her.

"Calm down. Don't give in to his taunts. That's exactly what he wants." Danis nodded. Litta fired a few shots, but Sephiroth again redirected them, at Squall this time. Squall jumped out of the way.

Sephiroth laughed. It made all three of them uneasy. He brought his sword up and, with surprising speed, lunged at Squall. Squall barely had time to put his sword up in defense. When Sephiroth attacked with his sword, it took a lot of Squall's energy to keep up his sword. He took a step forward, and Sephiroth backed off. Then Sephiroth turned around and attacked Litta and Danis. Litta pulled out her sword and blocked the attack. Squall was surprised to see that she had a sword, Sephiroth wasn't.

"I see you're finally using the training and knowledge I gave you," Sephiroth told her as they began fighting.

"You may have trained me, but I got my knowledge from somewhere else." Squall joined the fight. Sephiroth made it look so easy to fight them both at the same time, while blocking bullets from Danis.

He raised his hand and used Thundaga on them. Bolts of lightning hit each of them. He stood back and watched. When they had caught their breath, Litta began to attack him again. They circled the small clearing, and Squall came up behind Sephiroth. He attacked and got in one good hit before Sephiroth turned around and threw Litta into him. They rolled across the ground into a tree. Squall helped Litta up.

"Had enough yet?" Sephiroth said. He raised his hand and used Ice on them next. Danis was the first to recover and attack Sephiroth. He redirected her bullets again, but Litta had fired at the same time. Sephiroth hadn't heard Litta's bullets so they hit him before he could move. He wasn't smiling any more. He ran at Litta and put his sword to her throat, without cutting her.

"This isn't over yet," Sephiroth whispered in her ear. He flew off, leaving them to heal their wounds.

"Well that was fun," Danis commented.

"What did he tell you?" Squall asked Litta.

"He told me 'this isn't over yet'. I guess we hurt him enough for him to realize we're serious."

"It's about time he realized this isn't a game," Danis said.

"That's all it's ever been to him, a game," Squall said. "Maybe he knows now that we aren't going to let him win."

"Maybe," Litta told him. "We should see how Cloud's doing." They made their way back to the hotel. Vincent was waiting for them.

"How did it go?" he asked them.

"Sephiroth got away," Danis told him first.

"But I think we scared him," Squall said.

"What Squall means is that we think Sephiroth finally realizes we mean business," Litta explained.

"How's Cloud?" Danis asked.

"Follow me." Vincent led them into the room. Cloud was sitting up on the bed, but he stood up when they came in. They saw a glimpse of a bandage.

"What happened?" he asked them.

"Sephiroth left," Danis told him.

"Which way did he go?" None of them had been paying attention to the direction he had left in, so they didn't answer right away.

"We don't know," Litta finally said. "We'll find him though. He's still looking for Ultimacia and Jenova as far as I know."

"Where would he look to find them?" Squall asked.

"He would go to Shin-Ra about Jenova," Cloud said. "I'm not sure how he plans to find Ultimacia."

"Then let's pay another visit to Rufus Shinra," Danis suggested.

"Doesn't seem like there's much else we can do," Squall said.

"First you three should rest," Vincent said. "We can leave tomorrow." No one argued. The three of them slept immediately, and they all left the next day. Litta walked in silence, thinking about what Sephiroth had told her about the lifestream.

"You seem quiet." She looked up. Squall was walking next to her.

"Just thinking," she told him.

"About?"

"About my past. About the lifestream and what it has to do with me." She paused while she thought of what to say next. "Sephiroth told me that I fell into the lifestream when I was with him once in Mideel. I've been trying to figure out how that could have affected me."

"Maybe we should go to Mideel and find out." She looked up at Squall again.

"Maybe I should, but what would I tell the others?"

"Do we really need to tell them anything?"

"What do you mean 'we'?" Litta asked him. Now Squall smiled.

"I'm going with you of course."

"No you're not. I don't need you."

"You may not need me, but I'm coming all the same," he told her. She sighed. She walked up to Vincent and told him where she was going. She figured he would understand, and she was still a little wary with Cloud around her.

"You know where we're going," Vincent told her. She nodded and ran back to Squall.

"Okay, let's go."

They ran back towards Maetar and then in the direction of Mideel. Squall took the lead, since he knew the way better. They didn't talk on the way. They reached Mideel in a few hours.

"So where to now?" Squall asked her.

"I'm not sure. Sephiroth said I fell off one of the platforms into a crack in the ground from an earthquake. Inside the crack was where some of the lifestream began to creep through."

"That's all you know?"

"Yep, pretty much. Maybe someone here will remember an earthquake when a crack with the lifestream opened up."

She went around and began questioning some of the residents. Squall waited while she did this. He looked in some of the stores. He walked out of one, near the border of the town, when he heard someone behind him.

"Having fun playing games with my daughter?" Squall turned around to face Sephiroth.

"I'm not playing games with your daughter. That's what you've been doing."

"I do not toy with my daughter," Sephiroth said calmly.

"Then what do you call it?"

"I only answer her questions with the truth."

"Are you planning on fighting us again, or do you have some other purpose for being here?" Squall asked bluntly.

"I don't plan on fighting you. You should be happy for that. You took quite a beating the last time you battled me, if I remember correctly."

"I don't care what happened last time. All I care about is beating you for good."

"Interesting." Sephiroth flew into the sky and disappeared before Squall could ask him what he meant by saying that. Squall stood there for a minute thinking, while Litta came up behind him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. He turned around.

"Sephiroth was here."

"What! Where did he go?" Squall pointed in the direction Sephiroth had left.

"It looks like he might be headed to Shin-Ra. Did you find out anything from the people?" Litta's facial expression changed.

"Yes, a little. A few people remember an earthquake a few years ago. They remember some kid falling into a crack. That's about it though. At least now I know Sephiroth told me the truth. But I'm still trying to figure out what this means."

"Think about it while we get to Shin-Ra." They left Mideel and once again headed towards Shin-Ra.


	8. The Final Battle

**Chapter 8**

Cloud, Vincent, and Danis reached Shin-Ra. The building no longer had a gaping hole in one side. The construction was finished. They walked right up to Rufus Shinra's office without meeting any Turks. When they walked in they realized why. All the Turks were in Rufus' office.

"How nice of you to drop by Cloud," Rufus said. The Turks stood up and pointed their guns at them. "Won't you join us?"

"We're not here for chit-chat," Cloud said. "We came here for answers."

"And what questions do these answers pertain to?" Cloud stepped forward.

"First, tell your Turks to back off or you'll have dead Turks on the floor." Rufus nodded and the Turks put away their guns. "Second, tell them to leave."

"Surely you don't think I'd leave myself in a room with you without any protection."

"I do, and my two friends will be staying in here with us." Cloud looked directly at Rufus, and Rufus stared right back.

"I'll agree to send out my Turks if your friends will leave as well. Only you and I in this room. That way we each have a kind of insurance."

"Fine, but if you try anything your Turks are history." Rufus nodded and the Turks left. Cloud looked at Vincent and Danis. They followed the Turks out of the office and closed the door behind them.

"Very good," Rufus said. "Now, what is it you want to talk to me about?"

"Sephiroth." Cloud let that word hang in the air a minute before continuing on. "I want to know if you've seen him recently." Rufus thought for a minute before responding.

"I'm afraid I can't help you this time. I haven't seen Sephiroth since the last time you came here with that question in mind."

"How do I know if I can believe you or not?" Cloud asked.

"I suppose you don't know, except that it doesn't benefit me at this point to lie." Cloud made to leave, but the door suddenly swung open. Reno came running in.

"Sephiroth just walked in!" Reno looked almost frantic. Almost. Rufus stood up.

"It seems Cloud that you may get your answers after all. I'll let you deal with Sephiroth, since I have no business to discuss with him." Cloud ran out the door. He ran down the stairs, followed by Vincent and Danis. He got to the entrance and saw Sephiroth standing there.

"It looks like you are just as predictable as you were before Cloud," Sephiroth said. Cloud tensed up and reached for his sword.

"If it's a battle you want," Cloud said, "then a battle you'll get." Sephiroth smiled.

--------

Litta and Squall weren't far from Shin-Ra. They hadn't talked much since they left Mideel, but Litta broke the silence.

"I think I get it," she said.

"Get what?" Squall asked.

"I think I know what the lifestream has to do with my past. You know that I've had dreams where I've seen parts of my past, the present, the future, and parts of other people's lives." Squall nodded. "I think my dreams have to do with the lifestream."

"How do you figure that?"

"Think about it. The lifestream is the life force of the planet, right? It has certain powers, not that anyone knows everything there is to know about the lifestream. But still, when I fell into it I was in a coma for a week. If I remember correctly, when I overheard about the time Cloud fell in he too was in a coma. He also was able to sort through his mind and straighten out his memories. Maybe that's what happens with my dreams. The lifestream gave me this, ability you could say, to see different parts of my life.

"I've seen parts of my past, since I couldn't remember them on my own, but that's what I was always thinking about. I've seen parts from the present, since that became a big concern. And I saw parts of my future, because that's what I was afraid of. As for seeing parts of your past and Vincent and Cloud's lives, it must be because you're all constantly on my mind as well." Squall smiled. _So she thinks about me. That's a good sign._

"You think this, ability, came from the lifestream?"

"It's the only explanation I can come up with, unless you have a better one."

"No. We're coming up on the Shin-Ra building." She looked up and saw the top of the building not too far in the distance.

"Hopefully we'll find some good news there." They sprinted the rest of the way.

Cloud blocked Sephiroth's sword again. He tried to get in a few good hits, but Sephiroth never stayed still long enough for that. Vincent and Danis continued to fire shots every so often, but most of the time they came closer to hitting Cloud than Sephiroth.

"Watch where you're aiming those things!" Cloud shouted. Sephiroth laughed.

"It seems your friends are unable to help you." Cloud answered with another attack. Sephiroth laughed again and used Earthquake. Cloud was able to keep his balance, but both Vincent and Danis fell to the ground. Sephiroth took the opportunity and attacked Vincent. Vincent rolled out of the way none too soon, but still was hit on the arm by Sephiroth's masamune. Sephiroth turned around and countered Cloud's attack with an attack of Water. Cloud was thrown back into a tree.

"You still don't seem to understand that you can't beat me," Sephiroth told Cloud.

"I will beat you," Cloud told him as he struggled to his feet. Sephiroth only laughed. Cloud charged again and the battle continued. Danis decided to use a grenade, but it hit Cloud as much as Sephiroth.

"Using items or magic will hurt Cloud as much as Sephiroth," Vincent told her.

"There's got to be something we can do besides watch."

"Wait for a clean shot. Then fire." Cloud continued to attack Sephiroth. It switched between the two as to who got in a good hit. Every few times Cloud would cut Sephiroth. Then the next time it was Sephiroth who got a good hit. Cloud took a step back and took a breath. Sephiroth took the time to attack Vincent.

"Trying to contain yourself I see." Vincent didn't reply. He backed away from Sephiroth, who stepped forward. His sword slashed across Vincent's chest. Vincent fired, and hit Sephiroth's arm.

Danis was still waiting to fire. When Sephiroth was attacking Vincent she saw an opening for her to shoot. She took it. She aimed quickly and hit Sephiroth's shoulder. He stopped charging at Vincent and went after Danis. He ran at her, but she quickly rolled away.

--------

Squall and Litta were still in the forest when they came up on the three-on-one battle. They saw Sephiroth fighting Cloud, Danis, and Vincent all at the same time.

"So much for good news," Squall whispered.

"Where have you two been?" Danis asked when she dodged out of the way of an attack and landed near them.

"Figuring out more about my past," Litta told her. "Need some help?"

"Yeah, we could use all the help we can get." As she said that, Sephiroth used Firaga on them all. Litta didn't wait another minute before jumping into the battle, Squall doing the same.

It was only a minute before Litta got a chance to attack. She aimed carefully, and fired. She dealt the final blow. Her bullet went straight into Sephiroth's chest. He hadn't been expecting it.

"Litta..." He fell to the ground. Litta walked up slowly to his body. The others stayed at a distance. "You're my...daughter. How...could you?" He was gasping for air.

"I may be your daughter, but you've never been a father to me." She saw the pain on his face.

"Perhaps you're right." He took another breath. "Perhaps you're right, and I'm wrong. If that is so, then I have been a fool." He stopped breathing.

"I'm sorry," Litta whispered to him. She knelt down by his body. _I killed my own father._ She couldn't hold back the tears. She turned away. Vincent and Cloud took the body away. Danis went with them, leaving Squall with Litta. Litta was still crying so she didn't notice Squall next to her right away.

"I killed him."

"It's okay Litta. I'm here for you." She looked up at him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I want to help you. I've been hiding my feelings from you for so long, especially after you told me how you felt."

"I know. I always thought that that meant you didn't return my feelings."

"I knew that was what you thought. I'm not good at expressing my feelings, which I know you know. But I can't hide them anymore."

"Meaning?" He put his face close to hers.

"I do return your feelings."

**The End**


End file.
